Books

The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis is the author of The Pentecost Paradigm: Ten Strategies for Becoming a Multiracial Congregation (2018)The Power of Stories and the children’s book, You Are So Wonderful! She is writing her fourth book, Go Deep, Get Naked, and Come Clean: Getting a Grown-Up God.

The Pentecost Paradigm: Ten Strategies for Becoming a Multiracial Congregation

How do churches build immunity from racial and ethnic tensions that threaten to divide rather than unite congregations? Jacqui Lewis and John Janka believe that the answer lies in the development of multiracial, multicultural communities of faith.

Born of the authors’ work with The Middle Project (below), an institute that prepares ethical leaders for a more just society, The Pentecost Paradigm is a collection of wisdom and best practices. Here you will find lessons, questions for conversation, and spaces for journaling. Use the workbook with your planning team, board members, lay leaders, and staff.

With illustrations by Jeremy Tugeau, this children’s book from Jacqui Lewis celebrates that each child is gift from God and made in God’s image. From School Library Journal: “In simple, rhyming text, this title celebrates the uniqueness of people, focusing on physical features: 'No one else has your grin. No one else has your chin.' There are references to God as creator as well as a biblical psalm. Brightly colored, full-page illustrations depict an urban environment with a diverse cast of characters of various ages, sizes, races, and abilities." To purchase the book, contact Ellen Matlach at ematlach@middlechurch.org or 212.477.0666.

This popular 24-page workbook is a blueprint for congregations who are curious or committed to building racially diverse houses of worship. This practical guide features tools, activities, and worksheets to help clergy and lay leaders build multiracial and multicultural communities of faith.

The Power of Stories: A Guide for Leading Multi-Racial and Multi-Cultural Congregations

Most congregational leaders find it difficult to resist the dominant cultural expectation that different cultural and ethnic groups should stick to themselves -- especially when it comes to church. But some congregational leaders have learned the secrets of breaking out of these expectations to bring together communities of faith that model God’s radical inclusiveness. What makes the difference? Jacqui Lewis explains that it resides in the stories these leaders tell: stories about who they themselves are, and what the communities they lead are about. These leaders are able to embrace the multiple, complex stories within these diverse communities, hearing in the many voices a particular echo of the living voice of the gospel. In this book, Lewis shares with the reader examples of congregational leaders who have successfully overcome the challenges of leading multicultural congregations, and the lessons that can be learned from them.